drift, perspectives in surfing

Words &

Photos: Ed Fladung

I live in Nayarit, Mexico, approximately halfway down Mexico’s west coast. During my five years here, I’ve explored several different areas north and south of Puerto Vallarta. There are a handful of pretty well known surf breaks dotting the coastline from Mazatlan all the way down past Puerto Escondido. There are also hundreds of lesser-known breaks along the way. Mexico isn’t the western hemisphere’s answer to Indonesia, but it’s pretty dern close.

We all know that “getting there” is half the fun, the journey is the destination. So here’s a quick primer on navigating Mexico by road with an emphasis on safety and getting there in one piece.

There are generally two ways to explore surfing in Mexico:

Base Tripping
The first way is by picking a base and doing day trips. Sayulita, San Pancho, Punta Mita, Zihuatenejo and Puerto Escondido are good places to start for these kinds of excursions. With a rental car and a full tank of gas you can explore a decent number of nearby spots. Most tourist areas in central and southern mainland Mexico have surf breaks close by (there is a mother load of info about this kind of surf trip online). Far from any guarded localism, people here are generally always open to giving you directions if you’ve got a good disposition and disarming smile. Also try google maps and google earth—the internets is your friends.

Road Tripping
The second way to explore Mexico is by road-tripping, either by flying into one of the places mentioned above and renting a car or by bringing your own surf mobile in from the States. There is something to be said for traveling by car: Mexico is an indescribably beautiful, raw, varied place. Driving requires some preparation and common sense but what you see out of your window is just as rewarding as the good surf you’ll encounter along the way.

The biggest operative word while traveling Mexico is “safety” and the golden rule is never travel at night. In areas of rural Michoacan and Jalisco, farmers use the highway to rustle cattle, and drive farm equipment. Each little town that dots the highway is blessed with two speed bumps that aren’t always marked clearly. Larger towns will have three or four. Between Vallarta and my favorite little retreat in Michoacan I’ve counted 124 speed bumps, it takes an alert eye to see them all and hitting one at top speed can create a unexpected detour in your plans. Be vigilant.

Highway 200 is the traffic vein that runs along almost the entire west coast of mainland Mexico. In the northern states and Colima it’s a straight shot, (almost) modern two lane highway with kilometer markings. In areas of Nayarit, Jalisco and Michoacan the road can be in good shape or it can be a one-lane deathtrap. No joke. Luckily, in large stretches of Highway 200, llanteras (tire shops) are no more than 15 to 20 minutes away. The highway is the lifeblood of most small towns and as you’re passing through you’ll see every manner of man, woman, child, cattle, dog, chicken and lizard crossing the road. Again, vigilance is a must.